Torture and terror

Dan Jones presents a rather optimistic view on the possibility of more “humane” interrogation of detainees (6 March, p 40). Detention and interrogation, even when they do not involve violence, are inherently coercive and potentially traumatic. A fifth of suspects detained for ordinary police interrogation experience abnormally high levels of anxiety, and some develop post-traumatic stress disorder.

Individuals strongly committed to a cause or belief are resilient to any form of psychological manipulation, including torture. To suggest that “persuasion” techniques drawn from theories of social psychology developed in western cultures might work with such individuals is rather naive.